Once he fought for his countrymen, now he walks for them
Ex-officer Ruvan Ranatunga is setting off on his ‘Long Walk of Hope’ to raise funds for cancer patients
Ruvan Ranatunga has the route that will take him from one end of Sri Lanka to the other memorised – he’s been over it so many times in his head. He will set out on May 30 on foot from Dondra and pass through the low country heading north toward Deniyaya. From there, he will cut across the dense rainforests of Sinharaja before tramping up Adam’s Peak. On the other side he will find the roads that wind through the tea plantations of the hill country and will pass Dolosbage, Aranayaka and Mawanella on his way to Kurunegala. As he keeps heading north he will walk through Vavuniya, Pooneryn to the Jaffna peninsula and finally – over 500 km and 45 days later –he will sight another coast -Point Pedro.
Ruvan: Inspired by victims of cancer. Pic by Mangala Weerasekera
Those rooting for him will be able to follow his progress through tweets, Facebook updates and pictures posted on instagram. Ruvan, who usually prizes the freedom of the road, is willing to be tethered to his cell phone only because it’s for a cause. Where he first wanted simply to travel, to explore Sri Lanka and meet its people, his ‘Long Walk of Hope’ is now a fundraising mission, the proceeds of which go toward charity.
“It started off with me going behind my dream but that’s all changed. It’s not just my journey anymore,” he says, adding that he intends to stay off the main roads, choosing lesser travelled routes where he has more chances of engaging with people.
He has made no arrangements for accommodation or meals, but will carry camping equipment and basic medicines in his backpack. His supply of edibles will last only two days – “I’m betting in this country, you can’t go 48 hours without someone offering to share their food with you,” he says.
Ruvan’s confidence in the generosity of his countrymen reveals a deep seated streak of patriotism, one that had him abandoning his studies just months before his London A/Ls to enrol in the Army when he was just 21.
Growing up in a country where violence was common, made Ruvan determined to be part of the solution. “I felt I needed to do something,” he says, adding “what I want to stress at this point is that it was nothing to do with being Tamil or being Sinhalese…I just wanted to do my part to keep the country together.” He says he never regretted his decision and that the 14 years he spent in the Army were “very eye opening and even rewarding in a certain sense.” He was stationed in Jaffna, Mannar and Vavuniya and briefly in Trincomalee and says he prized the opportunity to communicate with the people who lived in each region.
Seeing active duty and losing comrades to the war had a profound impact on him: “It gives you a sense of awareness of how precious life is. You could be talking to people and the next moment they’re no more. It is the kind of exposure that really puts all the other things, the lesser things into perspective.” Having attained the rank of Major, he opted to leave the Army in 2007. He has since seen several projects through to completion, working in fields as diverse as security, GIS solutions for businesses, community health initiatives, leadership training, quarrying and nanotechnology.
Now he’s set his sights on Point Pedro. He’ll be relying on a compass and a map, with GPS available in a pinch. He’ll keep his cell phone charged using a portable solar panel. He has people who would like to walk sections of the route with him – but they will have to be entirely self-sufficient because Ruvan himself has no idea what they will face. “If people do join it will be under those same conditions,” he says. However, he’s likely to take responsibility for at least one of them – nine-year- old Randa will likely need his father’s help now and then. “He’s a nice guy, he’s a very straightforward guy,” says Ruvan. “When I told him, the first thing he told me is ‘can I join you to climb Sri Pada?’” Ruvan’s wife Meneka is as supportive and will likely also join for some stretches.
His greatest inspirations are the embattled cancer patients he’s seen and whom he hopes to help. “I’m taking courage from their stories for myself. If they are willing to fight and stay alive and wake up the next day, I think that would give me enough inspiration to crawl even if I have to. I will get there.”
Come aboard to help
Ruvan hopes to raise funds to help victims of cancer. All pledges will go directly into funding the CCC house, a 188-bed cancer transit home for outpatients at the National Cancer Institute in Maharagama in the South and to the Colours of Courage Paediatric Cancer Ward in the North, currently under construction in Thelippalai. Donors are welcome to give as much as they choose, but can also opt to donate a certain sum per kilometre Ruvan covers or per phase or just for the entire journey. The entirety of the sum raised will be equally divided between the two projects.
Anything.lk have come aboard to support Ruvan in a big way and will help keep his Facebook page updated with his progress. (https://www.facebook.com/LongWalkOfHope). Ruvan also intends to tell those he meets about the CCC helpline, a counselling service set up in response to the rising suicide rate. The helpline’s number is 1333 and can be dialled from any line.
For more information visit: www.coloursofcourage.com and http://www.trailsl.com.
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